Bulldogs lose regular-season finale at ECCC

Mississippi Gulf Coast had an eye-popping three players register double-doubles Thursday, but the Bulldogs men's basketball team lost 87-80 to East Central at Decatur.

Melvion Flanagan (Fr., Alexandria La./Peabody) had a game-high 23 points, along with 12 rebounds and five assists. Carr Thiam (Fr., Tampa Fla./Wharton) had 21 points and 11 boards, and Anthony Ratliff (So., Jackson/Terry) had 18 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Bulldogs (6-10, 4-10 MACCC South) turned the ball over 22 times, however, and shot just 36.1 percent from the field. East Central (3-11, 3-11) took care of the ball and lost it only 10 times while shooting 40.8 percent from the field.

Each team won the home games in the series this season. Both teams closed out their regular seasons Thursday and now wait for a slew of makeup games to be played next week. 

All teams will play in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, which starts March 30 with play-in games for the teams seeded 14th through 19th. The Bulldogs appear to be above that threshold and would appear to be headed the first round, which will be played April 1.

Gulf Coast led by seven points with 7:42 left in the first half and went into the locker room with a 37-35 lead. East Central took the lead for good less than three minutes into the second half and would eventually lead by as many as 14.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.